


Whumptober 21

by Waywocket



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Disfigurement, Pain, Suicidal Ideation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27130426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywocket/pseuds/Waywocket
Summary: Six can't sleep while what's under his mask bothers him
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Whumptober 21

It had been a few years now since the portal incident. A few years since Six was in the hospital listening to doctors and nurses whisper where they thought he couldn’t hear. Whisper that they didn’t know what to do about what was left of his face. Didn’t know why he was alive. He had been afraid back then. Afraid he would die on that hospital bed.

But it was healed now. Or as healed as it would ever be. Six still tried to avoid looking into mirrors without the mask on. Tried not to be without it. He even slept in it. Sometimes, he thought he could see his face through the heavy wooden mask. See what was left, or worse, what wasn’t.

The worst part that he hated more than all the memories and incomplete feelings was the pain! After all this time, it still ached. The pain sunk deep into him. Could feel it on his skin and deep down into the bone. It was a reminder of his mistake, one that would never leave. Not a second of peace when he was awake.

Sitting in the darkness of his room, he ran his hands under the mask. His fingers brushed over what was left of his skin, feeling each change, and reminded him that he was disfigured beyond repair.

He pressed at the edges, trying to relieve some of the pain. Nothing worked. Medicine was like eating candy. Even the pills that made him dizzy still left him in pain, wishing for relief and the room to make sense again.

Pain management therapy did nothing. They weren’t prepared for blue matter explosions. Not that he had expected much at the time. It was hard to cope with something no one had felt before. 

Six had tried ice packs, hoping to maybe numb the pain. They made him cry out in agony and throw the ice packs across the room.

Even blue matter experiments had all failed him. He had hoped, in desperation, that the similarities would afford him some relief. That he could ease something. He was sure the damage had gotten worse. But it was hard to know if it wasn’t just in his head.

It felt like he was mad. The pain was driving him insane. There was little else he could think about, no matter how much he threw himself into his work. It was all he could do to keep from worrying the others in the manor. 

He could hardly sleep anymore. The pain demanded far too much attention, leaving him no time to relax enough. But when he could, it was his only reprieve. At least in sleep, he didn’t feel pain. Even if he couldn’t enjoy it, knowing it was there had to be enough.

Sometimes, when he woke up, in too much pain to even cry anymore, he wished he wouldn’t wake up. Anything to make the pain stop.


End file.
